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9/23/2012

Does the Spine Matter? Book Spine Poetry Part 2

Book Spine Poetry is simple-fun! See
my previous post for evidence.I stumbled upon it, but it was inevitable that
I would do so.Read on for my related
lazy summer library days story that prompted me to take the next step and
create.

My Lazy Summer
Library Days Story

As a kid I recall sultry summer afternoons that lingered on
forever.Solitude and freedom awaited me
in the old train depot that had been “renovated” to accommodate a meager
number of books available to the public in the rural town I called home.I found refuge wiping away cobwebs from book spines
and gently blowing off the dust as I randomly selected one with a sense of
awe.Seemingly minutes passed before the
librarian softly told her only patron that she needed to close to make it to
her evening job.

Considering the amount of time I had spent gazing at the
books, I wandered slowly home carrying only a light
knapsack with room to spare.Much of my time had been spent
browsing the spines, daydreaming about what story, adventure, or truth of human
nature might be encompassed in those brief titles.I knew exactly where the larger than life
dictionary was located and frequently used it to look up the meanings of words
in the titles.Being that I was only in
third grade, most of the books were beyond my reading comprehension level, but
the titles allowed me to create my own stories.

Now, skip forward a few decades… “Does the title matter?” one
of my students asked me.This question
is like asking a chef if an ingredient is of importance.Rather than tell, I show. Print is both
purposely and haphazardly displayed about both my work and home
environments.Book spines give a quick
glimpse of topics of importance to members of my home.

What’s Your Poem or Story?

Book Spine Poetry has a way of bringing out our stories and
creativity.What’s your story?What new story comes alive when you combine
the books that surround you on a daily basis in a Book Spine Poem?How can this be used in education?What could you learn about your students or
coworkers by creating and/or participating in a school-wide Book Spine Poetry
challenge?Imagine the possibilities in
the bilingual or multilingual classroom!

Where’s the tech
here?

Well… this one’s got two sides.There’s the platform needed to share the
pictures and the photography involved.It
could be made into a multimedia project, combined with audio or an online
presentation tool, etc.But there is
also a downside.As I searched about my
home to create my own poems, most of the recent books I have consumed were
located on my tablet…

2 comments:

My reading changes with 14 days...I still have 14-day books (last book spine poem), now I sensibly (?) intermix 14-day books with books which are checked out for at least a month. Today's offering: Shadow of the wind,The time traveler's wifeThe rope.Queen Sugar,The Joy luck club.

Hi Molly,It makes so much sense to me to use our libraries. On a related topic, I'm appreciative of the work librarians do! As you know I embrace technology, but I do wonder about what is lost with the change of books to ebooks. My ereader has it's benefits. Yet, there is no substitute for holding a book in my hand-- the texture, the sound of the flipping pages, even the subtle smell all please and add to the experience.

I've only read the last book on your evolving list. Thanks for sharing!